Healing and Caring: The Life and Legacy of Mother Hieronymo O’Brien (1819-1898), Part 2

^{Sister Hieronymo as a Sister of St. Joseph. From: Archives of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester. (Used with permission)}

As seen in the previous post in this series, following the successful establishment of St. Mary’s Hospital, Sister Hieronymo’s order transferred her to the Charity Hospital in New Orleans.

A tug of war ensued between the citizens of Rochester and the order: Rochesterians petitioning for her return; the order resisting. Both parties, however, failed to account for the interest of a third party–the newly created Diocese of Rochester and its first Bishop, Bernard J. McQuaid (1823 – 1909).

^{Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid ca. 1905. From: the Collection of the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division}

McQuaid approached Sister Hieronymo about coming back to Rochester, not as a Daughter of Charity but as a Sister of St. Joseph, in order to run the school at St. Patrick’s Orphan Asylum, the Catholic orphanage for girls. In March 1871, at the termination of her previous vows, Sister Hieronymo left New Orleans for Rochester, joining the Sisters of St. Joseph the following month.

In the summer of 1872, Sister Hieronymo established the institution originally known as The House of Industry. Initially undertaken with St. Patrick’s’ girls who had aged out of the orphanage, it quickly expanded as a ministry in its own right, including an outreach to “homeless and friendless girls,” regardless of creed.

The House trained the adolescent girls in needlework (e.g., sewing, tailoring, and embroidery) and helped them find respectable, gainful employment.  

The following year, the House was rebranded The Home of Industry and moved into a private residence at 40-42 Edinburgh Street in Corn Hill. In August 1874, it relocated to larger quarters at 136 South St. Paul Street (later called South Avenue), near Howell Street.

^{The site of the Home of Industry’s South Avenue location in 1875 and 2023. The red X marks the spot where the building once stood. From: City of Rochester Plat Map, 1875 and City of Rochester Map, 2023.}

The continuing demand for the Home’s services encouraged Mother Hieronymo to erect a new building rather than retrofitting an existing house. In October 1888, a new Home of Industry opened on East Main Street at Prince Street, adjacent to the Corpus Christi Church.

By this time, the Home had added training in household skills and shoe manufacturing (to prepare residents for employment in Rochester’s burgeoning shoe industry), as well as a profitable bakery and laundry, which generated funds to pay for the Home’s food and heating fuel.

By 1896, the Home of Industry housed 110 girls. The care that Sister Hieronymo expended and the devotion she had shown to all citizens of her adopted city endeared her to the community, who bestowed upon her the honorary title of “Mother” Hieronymo.

Though Mother Hieronymo passed away on January 30, 1898, her legacy survived her.

^{The later Home of Industry at East Main and Prince Streets. In 1906, it became St. Agnes Institute, predecessor to St. Agnes High School. From: Archives of St. Joseph of Rochester. (Used with permission)}

The following November, her successors determined that the Main Street facility had outlived its original purpose and the institution adopted a new mission and name, The Home for Aged Women. This wasn’t a radical transition since the Home of Industry had begun welcoming elderly women as permanent guests in 1876.

In May 1903, following a health challenge of his own, Bishop McQuaid began to worry about other elderly men and women who had no one else to care for them. To address the need, he purchased ten acres of land on West Charlotte Boulevard (now Lake Avenue) for the Home’s newest incarnation, St. Ann’s Home for the Aged, a facility for high quality nursing care.

The initial building at 1971 Lake Avenue, with space for 150 women and 30 men, was formally dedicated on January 6, 1906. Its location near St. Bernard’s Seminary permitted its priests to serve the spiritual needs of the residents.

^{St. Ann’s Home for the Aged, 1971 Lake Avenue. From: the Albert R. Stone Negative Collection, Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, N.Y.}

Due to increasing demand, the original St. Ann’s building had to expand three times during its 50 years on Lake Avenue. Its neighbor to the south, Kodak Park, also experienced exponential growth in the mid-twentieth century.

^{St. Ann’s Home complex, Portland Avenue. From: Democrat & Chronicle, August 26, 1962.}

The needs of both entities fostered the sale of the 22.5-acre property to Kodak in 1958, after which Kodak demolished the structure to make way for its new research laboratories. St. Ann’s moved to Portland Avenue, where it has been serving Rochesterians since 1962.

– Christopher Brennan

For Further Information:

Archives of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester.

“Catholic Home for Aged Women to be Located on Boulevard: Bishop McQuaid Purchases Land Near St. Bernard’s Seminary,” Democrat and Chronicle, May 31, 1903, p. 20. 

“Home of Industry Changes Its Scope: Now an Institution for the Care of Aged Women,” Democrat and Chronicle, November 11, 1898, p. 11. 

Gerald Kelly, The Life of Mother Hieronymo (Rochester, New York: Christopher Press, 1948).

Robert F. McNamara, The Diocese of Rochester, 1868-1993, 2^nd ed. (Rochester, New York: Diocese of Rochester, 1998).

“A New Building: The Rochester Home of Industry Nearly Completed,” Democrat and Chronicle, October 21, 1888, p. 2.  

“New Kodak Laboratory to Rise on Old St. Ann’s Home Site,” Democrat and Chronicle, July 8, 1965, p. 2B.

“Old St. Ann’s Home: Demolition Under Way,” Democrat and Chronicle, February 2, 1965, p. 1B.

“St. Ann’s Home,” Democrat and Chronicle, August 26, 1962, pp. 1-16S. A supplement advertising its open house.

“St. Ann’s Home Marks 50 Years Care of Aged,” Catholic Courier Journal, November 2, 1956, p. 24.

“Start Your Engines… and Much More,” Pt. 2: From the Rochester Coil Co. to Delco

The first post of this series detailed the history of the early-twentieth-century firms that served as the predecessors to Delco. In part two, we’ll follow the twists and turns that Delco took as it grew into a Rochester institution.

Back in the late 1920s, the company—then known as North East Appliance–began manufacturing automotive heater blower motors along with its existing product lines (starters and ignitions). Just as the electric starter was a pioneering product, heaters for automobiles were also a groundbreaking accessory. Orders were small at first as heaters were an after-market product installed by dealers.

^{From: Jerry T Emrick, Delco Products: Its History, Its Heritage (1983), p. 18.}

In 1930, General Motors moved all of its starter and ignition production out of Rochester to their plant in Anderson, Indiana, which was already manufacturing the same products. GM then moved production of their Delco Light farm lighting systems, domestic water pumps, vacuum cleaners, fans, and radios from Dayton, Ohio to Rochester.

The change in product lines came with a change in the company name. The new Rochester-based company was rebranded the Delco Appliance Corporation.

In 1934, the firm became the Delco Appliance Division of General Motors Corporation and began focusing on home appliances. The first new product was oil-burning domestic heating equipment. These were devised to replace the old dirty coal burning furnaces which were then commonplace. Delco produced stand-alone oil burner furnaces and a very successful line of oil burners used in converting coal furnaces to oil.

^{From: Democrat & Chronicle, September 12, 1937.}

Delco changed its product lines according to the demands of the marketplace. By the late 1930s, the company had dropped a number of its unprofitable items like speedometers and vacuum cleaners. The focus was now on automotive heater blower motors (by this time standard equipment), farm water pumps, and the continued line of home heating equipment.

WWII saw Delco discontinue domestic product lines to focus on war contracts. The firm mass produced precision electro-mechanical equipment such as electric generators for tanks, anti-aircraft controls, bomber instrument motors, and many special use motors. For their outstanding performance, Delco won the coveted Army-Navy “E” Award for Excellence.

^{Some of the war-related products Delco manufactured in the 1940s. From: Jerry T. Emrick, Delco Products: Its History, Its Heritage (1983), p. 19.}

During wartime, Delco became a leading producer of electric motors of all types. This became a growing product line in the post-war era, when the company resumed manufacturing home heating equipment, water pumps, and light generating systems.

Early 1950 saw Delco take existing products and adapt them to new applications. The company redesigned heater motors to be used in power window actuators and power seat actuators. These new products substantially increased the volume of the company’s total manufacturing output. With no room to expand at their present site, the firm bought a 125-acre lot further west on Lyell Avenue in 1951. The completed plant opened two years later.

^{A circa 1951 map of the new Delco property on Lyell Avenue. From: Delco Appliance News, May 31, 1951.}

^{The new Delco Appliance headquarters at 1555 Lyell Avenue, completed in 1953. From: Delco Appliance News, Vol. 7, No. 7.}

With the new facility, came new products. Delco developed electric windshield wipers, which were installed on the 1954 Chevrolet trucks. These electric wipers became optional equipment on GM automobiles not long after.

By 1959, car designs had changed the size of windshields so much that the old-style vacuum windshield wipers could no longer handle the load. Electric wipers now became standard equipment and business boomed. Delco Appliance became the sole source for all of GM’s wiper needs.  

^{From: Jerry T. Emrick, Delco Products: Its History, Its Heritage (1983), p. 24.}

The success of the electric windshield motor assembly product lines instigated management to review all their product lines. Delco decided to take their core competency of electric motor technology and apply it to the immensely profitable automobile industry. By 1964, the Rochester firm had completely halted the production of electric appliance motors and home heating equipment.

Changes in the corporate structure followed the company’s new focus on the automobile industry. In 1965, GM announced the merger of Delco Appliances in Rochester with Delco Products in Dayton, Ohio, with manufacturing at Lyell Avenue thereafter known as Rochester Operations of Delco Products Division. However, it continued to be known throughout Rochester as just “Delco.”

For the next 29 years, the Delco facility at 1555 Lyell Avenue employed approximately 3,500 workers in good paying, secure jobs producing quality parts, before GM sold the plant and the business to ITT Industries in 1994.

The new owners continued to provide steady employment producing electrical motors and subassemblies for GM. ITT Industries sold the plant and business to Valeo SA in 1998.

^{From: Democrat & Chronicle, July 29, 2005.}

A decrease in orders from their main customer, GM, initiated a series of work force reductions. Business continued to decline so drastically that Valeo filed for bankruptcy in 2002. Layoffs proceeded until there were only 500 remaining employees when Valeo shut down in 2005.

After almost 100 years of providing good, steady jobs in Rochester, Delco was gone.

-Daniel Cody

My Back Pages: The Old School Roots of Rochester’s New Hall of Fame Class

This year’s Rochester Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony is coming up on April 30, 2023. To get a glimpse of what some of this year’s inductees looked like before they were famous, I pored through the pages of some yearbooks in the Local History & Genealogy Division.

Brother Wease may be a household name in Rochester, but the popular DJ was born Alan Levin.

^{Alan Levin, better known as Brother Wease. From: Democrat & Chronicle, September 5, 2021. Photo by: Todd Clausen}

He earned his better-known moniker because there were two Alan Levins in the ABC Streets neighborhood where he grew up. Being the smaller of the two, he was donned Weasel. By the time he started taking classes at Monroe High School, most everyone was calling him Wease.

^{Alan “Weasel” Levin played on three Monroe teams back in the 1960s. From: Monrolog, 1965.}

Following his graduation in 1965, Wease served three tours in Vietnam, after which he became a drill segreant for a short spell. His first foray into the world of music was as the promoter for the Philadelphia-based band, The American Dream. In 1975, he entered the concert promotion game in Rochester with John Scher and Ted Boylan, largely booking events at the Triangle Theater (now Harro East).

He launched his radio career in 1985 with a late-night show on WCMF. Within four months, the station moved him up to the morning time slot, for which he became well known. He would later showcase his incomparable hosting skills at both Woodstock ’94 and Woodstock ‘99. Wease continues to grace the airwaves on WAIO FM.

*

Like Brother Wease, R&B artist Charlene Keys, a.k.a.Tweet, also roamed the halls of Monroe High School, but she did so as a School of the Arts student. 

^{Charlene Keys’ graduation photo. From: Monrolog, 1988.}

Born in 1971, Charlene Keys was the youngest of five kids, which earned her the nickname “Baby Keys.” A shy child, Keys grew up singing in the Tabernacle of Faith church choir, but largely kept her musical ambitions to herself. She recollected to the D&C in 2016 that she “used to go in the closet and write songs on the wall” at her family’s home on Custer Street.

^{School 44 third grader, Charlene Keys on “Reading is Fun Day” in 1979. From: Democrat & Chronicle, October 12, 1979.}

Her stage fright had seemingly abated somewhat by the time she enrolled at School of the Arts, where she joined the choir.

^{Keys (center) in the School of the Arts Junior Choir. From: Monrolog, 1986.}

Keys graduated SOTA in 1988. Six years later, she began working as a backing vocalist at Dajhelon Studios.

^{The former home of Dajhelon Studios on the corner of East Avenue and Winthrop Street. From: Googlemaps, 2023.}

In the 1990s, Dajhelon drew artists such as Jodeci, Ginuwine, and Missy Elliott, as well as producer Timbaland. Elliott became enamored with Keys’ voice when she overheard her singing an original song in the studio one day. She then enlisted Keys to perform on her album Miss E…So Addictive in 2001. The following year, Keys embarked on her solo career as Tweet, releasing her debut album Southern Hummingbird, to great acclaim.

*

The founding members of the roots reggae band, Majestics, began playing music together as teens, though they all hailed from different high schools.

^{Rudy Valentino (far left) and Brother James (far right) flank the founding members of Majestics: Lou LaVilla (top left), Jim Schwarz (top right), and Ron Stackman (center) in this 1986 promo shot. From: Majestics.}

Though he is best known to Majestics fans for his bass-playing skills, Jim Schwarz’s Monroe High School cohorts might remember him better as class vice-president.

^{Veep Schwarz at bottom right with his beret-sporting amis ca. 1969. From: Monrolog, 1969.}

Not to be outdone, guitarist Rudy Valentino Jr. (who would join the band a couple years after its founding) served as president of the student council at Aquinas back in 1971.

^{Sharp dressed man, Rudolph Valentino. From: The Arete, 1971.}

The other Majestics were seemingly less politically minded teens.

Drummer and vocalist Lou Lavilla played on both the junior varsity baseball team and the track & field squad at Jefferson High School.

^{Track & Field teammate, Louis LaVilla in 1969. From: The Statesman, 1969.}

Keyboardist, guitarist, and vocalist, Ron Stackman was a Gates-Chili Spartan through and through, lending his talents to not only the soccer team, but also the stage band and the marching band.

^{Ron Stackman’s soccer and marching band glamour shots. From: Gateways, 1970.}

After performing in local acts Mushroom and Bahama Mama in the 1970s, Jim Schwarz, Lou LaVilla, and Ron Stackman formed Majestics in 1981. The group caught the attention of reggae icon Lee “Scratch” Perry, who enlisted them to serve as his backing band for a legendary string of dates opening for The Clash at Bonds International Casino in New York City. The trio then accompanied Perry to Jamaica where they recorded his Mystic Miracle Star LP at Dynamic Sounds Studio.

Majestics later added guitarist Rudy Valentino Jr. and Trinidadian percussionist Fitzroy “Brother” James (R.I.P.) to the mix; over the course of the 1980s, the band would perform with almost every major act in the reggae canon. The founding trio, now amplified by guitarist Kevin Hart and saxophonist Vincent Ercolamento (whose yearbooks we are unfortunately missing!) continue to play in Rochester today.

^{Majestics’ current lineup (L to R): Lou Lavilla, Ron Stackman, Jim Schwarz, Josh Allen, Vince Ercolamento, and Kevin Hart. Photo by: Morry, 2022.}

-Emily Morry

PSA: The Local History & Genealogy Division boasts an impressive yearbook collection, but it is unfortunately incomplete. Should you have any old local yearbooks gathering dust, please consider donating them to the division, so that future researchers and relatives can learn (and perhaps get a chuckle from) these visual vestiges of the past.

Healing and Caring: The Life and Legacy of Mother Hieronymo O’Brien (April 13, 1819-January 30, 1898), Part 1

Mother Hieronymo is perhaps one of the undersung heroes in local women’s history. Although her name might not ring a bell for many in the Flower City today, her level of celebrity in nineteenth century Rochester was on par with that held by Mother Teresa in the twentieth century.

Described as a “sainted woman” upon her passing, Mother Hieronymo’s continuing relevance to contemporary Rochester can still be seen through the healing and caring ministries of St. Mary’s Hospital and St. Ann’s Home. This is her story.

^{Sister Hieronymo as a Sister of St. Joseph. From: Archives of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester. (Used with permission)}

Mother Hieronymo was born Veronica O’Brien on April 13, 1819, in Washington, D.C. Her parents, Michael O’Brien, a machinist, and Catherine Mackin, were both Irish immigrants.

At the age of 22, she joined the Daughters of Charity, a religious order founded in 1809 by the first native-born American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton. Seton’s vision for the order was religious life consecrated to acts of charity. After joining the order, O’Brien lived out Seton’s vision. 

She took her first vows with the order on May 14^th, 1841, at which time she adopted the religious name Sister Hieronymo (a variant of the Latin name for Saint Jerome, Hieronymus).

She trained as a nurse and went on to serve at St. Paul’s Orphan Asylum in Pittsburgh, Rose Hill College in New York City, St. Vincent’s Asylum in Albany, and the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Buffalo. Her skill as a nurse and that of her colleagues was the principal reason for her relocation to Rochester.

^{Daughters of Charity and others gather for the funeral of Joseph Quigley in 1927. The same habit and winged headdress of the order would have been worn by Sister Hieronymo before she left the order in 1871. From: the Albert R. Stone Negative Collection, Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, N.Y.}

Though Rochester had housed a series of temporary facilities to address typhoid and cholera outbreaks in the first half of the nineteenth century, the city still lacked a permanent hospital by the mid-1850s. John Timon, the bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo (which included Rochester at the time) sought to change that.

Timon instituted a committee—which included noted nurseryman Patrick Barry—to find a suitable location; the group eventually settled on the land and two stables at Bulls Head.

^{The conjunction of Buffalo Street (now West Main), Genesee Street, and Brown Street is pictured on the left side of this ca. 1851 map. The highlighted lot details where the hospital would eventually be built. Halsted Hall would serve as a hospital annex during the Civil War. From: Plan of the City of Rochester, N.Y. 1851 by Marcus Smith.}

Timon then invited the Daughters of Charity in Buffalo to establish a hospital at the site. Sister Felicia Fenwick signed the deed and with the assistance of Sisters Martha Bridgman, Magdalen Groell, and Hieronymo O’Brien, opened St. Mary’s Hospital on September 15th, 1857.The following year, Sister Felicia transferred legal title to the property to Sister Hieronymo.

The early iteration of the hospital was fairly primitive. One stable housed the male patients in the loft and featured an impromptu kitchen on the ground floor.

The other stable lodged female patients on the ground floor while Sister Hieronymo and her fellow nuns slept in the loft on straw pallets with only their habits for covering. Rats infested the building, and often scampered across the beds at night. The sisters tried to use stove lids to cover the rat holes to no avail. Fortunately, local support was forthcoming for the construction of a more permanent and hygienic structure.

The Civil War assured the hospital’s long-term viability. In 1862, the local Overseer of the Poor, John Cline, referred a number of sick and wounded servicemen to the care of the nuns at St. Mary’s. The demand for such services and the quality of the care provided regardless of creed led the Federal Government to designate it a United States Army General Hospital in 1863.

By the close of the war, St. Mary’s reported that it had received and taken care of 2,500 soldiers, not counting those who had treated before the federal contract was signed. Construction of the original hospital building continued through the war, concluding in 1865. (The present hospital building, now known as St. Mary’s Medical Campus of Rochester Regional Health, opened in January 1943.)

^{Postcard of the first formal St. Mary’s Hospital building, which opened in 1865. From: the Collection of the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division}

^{Postcard of the second St. Mary’s Hospital building, which opened in 1943. From: the Collection of the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division.}

In September 1870, Sister Hieronymo was recalled by her order and assigned to the Daughters of Charity Hospital in New Orleans. The uproar in Rochester was immediate and vociferous.

A local newspaper described the decision as a “calamity,” declaring, “citizens of all classes and creeds will hear with regret this change in the management of the hospital.” On October 1, 1870, a citizens’ meeting was held in the Common Council chambers, with Mayor John Lutes presiding. The result of the meeting was the following resolution:

Resolved, That it is the earnest desire of the citizens of Rochester that Sister Hieronymo be restored to them and returned to the management of St. Mary’s Hospital.

She would return the following year, but to a different order and a different mission. These efforts will be discussed in part two.

–Christopher Brennan 

For Further Information:

Archives of the Daughters of Charity, Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Archives of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester.

“Citizen’s Meeting, St. Mary’s Hospital, the Removal of Sister Hieronymo, Testimonials of Esteem, etc.” Union and Advertiser, October 3, 1870, p. 2, cols. 3-4.

Mark Hare, “St. Mary’s Was Built on a Commitment to the Poor,” Democrat and Chronicle, September 30, 2007, p. 1B.

Gerald Kelly, The Life of Mother Hieronymo (Rochester, New York: Christopher Press, 1948).

Robert F. McNamara, The Diocese of Rochester, 1868-1993, 2^nd ed. (Rochester, New York: Diocese of Rochester, 1998).

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 140, p. 276.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 151, p. 335.

Stewart Putnam and Dana Miller, “St. Mary Celebrates 150 Years of Treating the Poor,” Democrat and Chronicle, September 25, 2007, p. 11A.

“Saint Mary’s Hospital,” Union and Advertiser, September 29, 1870, p. 2, col. 4.

“Sister Hieronymo, Rev. F. Burlando,” Union and Advertiser, January 3, 1871, p.2. col. 3.

Chris Swingle, “St. Mary’s to Celebrate 150 Years of Service,” Democrat and Chronicle, October 4, 2007, p. 1B.

“Start Your Engines… and Much More”: From the Rochester Coil Co. to Delco, Pt. 1

^{Delco Appliance Division tower. From: Delco Appliance News, Vol 4. No. 7.}

How many times have you started your car in the last year? No one ever thinks twice about it unless the car doesn’t start! We have become spoiled by being able to hit the road after just turning a key or pushing a button, but starting a car hasn’t always been so easy. Early automobiles had to be hand cranked to get their engines to turn over and start, which was both physically challenging and dangerous. Injuries could result if the cranking malfunctioned.

The desire to create an easier and safer way to start automobiles led to the creation of a Rochester manufacturing giant.

The roots of the electric car starter lie with Rochester brothers, Edward and Joseph Halbleib. In 1908, the pair launched the Rochester Coil Company on North Water Street, Their business was dedicated to repairing electric trolley car motors and generators. They also produced vacuum impregnated coils for electrical devices. Trolley cars were the mass transportation of choice during those days, but the automobile was becoming more popular.  

^{A couple of trolleys at Portland Avenue and Bay Street circa the 1920s. From: the Collection of the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division.}

In 1909, the business changed its name to the North East Electric Company, reflecting the brothers’ expansionist desires. Edward Halbleib was fascinated with engineering, and worked to combine his knowledge of electricity with the rising popularity of the automobile. In 1911, he recognized a business opportunity. Cars were now being mass produced, making them more affordable to more customers, but starting them still required hand cranking so Halbleib designed and built an electric starting system.

^{A North East Electric Company advertisement from 1913. From: Democrat & Chronicle, January 30, 1913.}

North East Electric Company immediately began selling their new product to the Gait Motor Company of Gait, Ontario. The electric ignition was also sold as an after-market product to car dealers and to car owners who installed the electric starts in their vehicles. The new product was a bonanza and the business quickly outgrew its North Water Street location. The company moved to a group of buildings off Lyell Avenue at 348 Whitney Street. 

^{The North East Electric Company complex at 348 Whitney Street. From: Democrat & Chronicle, June 27, 1920.}

In 1914, Edward Halbleib and newly hired engineer Thomas L. Lee had a meeting with the Dodge Brothers. The Dodges had just left the Ford Motor Company to start their own automobile manufacturing firm. Halbleib and Lee showed the Dodges their electric starter, generator, and ignition system. The meeting was a success and Dodge Brothers signed a contract with North East for their electric ignition system.

^{From: Democrat & Chronicle, February 1, 1914.}

These electric ignition systems helped the company grow steadily, so management sought to develop other products inspired by this technology. North East engineers developed automobile speedometers, utilized their electric ignition systems for marine applications, created a line of telephone company electric control systems and very small motors to power office calculating machines. A side company, Electric Typewriter Inc., created the first practical electric typewriter in 1924. The company was later sold to IBM.

^{The North East Company ran baseball, basketball, and softball teams, the latter of which is seen here circa 1920. From: the Albert R. Stone Negative Collection, Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, N.Y.}

The Chrysler Corporation bought Dodge Brothers in 1927 and ended North East’s lucrative contracts. By this time, North East had substantial competitors with newer and more modern facilities. North East went in search of a buyer. Chrysler wasn’t interested, nor was Willys-Overland Company.

In 1929, General Motors made the surprise announcement that they had purchased North East Electric Company. General Motors already had existing divisions which made similar products, but the technologies and skill set of North East were of interest to GM. The new organization was named North East Appliance Corporation and Edward Halbleib was instituted as general manager.

^{Article announcing that GM organized the North East Electric Company under a new name: North East Appliance Co. From: Democrat & Chronicle, October 16, 1929.}

The next post in this series will detail the company’s evolution from North East Appliance to the better known firm, Delco.

-Daniel Cody

Old to Begin: How a Historic Hotel Became a Home

If you’ve ever walked down Selye Terrace in the city’s Northwest Quadrant, you may have noticed that one of the homes on the street stands out.

^{One of these things is not like the others…the northern side of Selye Terrace a few houses west of Dewey Avenue. From: Google Maps, 2023.}

That is, it stands out because it is set back.

Why is this residence so far from the sidewalk and why does it look so different from the other houses on the block? The answer is two-fold. One, the edifice predates the surrounding homes by almost 40 years and two, it wasn’t built to be a house, but rather a hotel.

Back in the late nineteenth century, the area surrounding what is now Selye Terrace housed the Rochester Driving Park.

^{The area surrounding Selye Terrace in 2023 and the exact same area ca. 1888, when it housed the Rochester Driving Park. The street marked “Boulevard,” is now Dewey Avenue. Note the hotel’s location towards the bottom right corner of the map. From: City of Rochester, 2023; Rochester City Plat Map, 1888.}

Opened on August 11, 1874, the Rochester Driving Park was once billed as the fastest mile track in the United States and for a time was the most famous racetrack in the world.

^{Horses on the home stretch ca. 1890. From: the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division.}

The sprawling 82-acre campus was outfitted with a pond, several stables, office buildings, and three grandstands capable of accommodating 10,000 people. It also housed the Driving Park Hotel.

^{The two-story Driving Park Hotel hosted many turfmen, tourists, race fans, and Rochesterians alike in the nineteenth century. From: https://www.wbcus.org/blog Accessed February 21, 2023.}

The establishment, whose second-floor balcony boasted the best view of the racetrack, remained a popular institution for a couple of decades. Race days allegedly necessitated a staff of a dozen bartenders just to meet the demand of the thirsty thoroughbred fanatics in the hotel’s tavern.

Such fanaticism began to fade in the 1890s, likely influenced by a series of anti-betting laws introduced in New York State. The park held its last Grand Circuit race in 1895. It continued to host non-circuit horse races, bicycle races, battle reenactments, athletic competitions, circuses, and Buffalo Bill’s annual Wild West show.

^{The annual baseball game between the police nines of Rochester and Syracuse was one of many athletic competitions that took place at the Driving Park. In 1885, the teams posed for this photo at the Driving Park Hotel. From: Rochester Times-Union, April 8, 1933.}

A fire at the park in 1899, which destroyed two of the grandstands and caused $20,000 in damage all but sealed the racetrack’s fate. Rumors swirled that it was the work of arsons eager to develop the once popular park into housing lots. James Upson, the Driving Park Hotel’s owner at the time scoffed, “It’s $10 to a cent that the stands were set on fire.”

Every remaining structure on the racetrack’s campus except the hotel was torn down in 1902 to make way for the new Rochester Driving Park residential tract.

A couple years later, Greece developer Willis N. Britton moved into the former hotel and outfitted an apartment for his family therein. They moved out in 1907, allegedly on the very same day that the northside of the building was razed to make way for the property lots along Lake View Park.

^{These maps from 1888 and 1910 depict the difference in the hotel’s footprint before and after the area’s development into a residential tract. Lake View Park is the street at the top of the map. The hotel’s remainder is on lots 80 and 81 on the 1910 map. From: Rochester City Plat Maps, 1888, 1910.}

As the new residential tract took shape, the southern half of the former hotel was repurposed as an apartment house.

^{The apartment house at 298-304 Selye Terrace ca. 1949. From: Democrat & Chronicle, June 5, 1949.}

Over time, the aging structure became increasingly dilapidated. It was eventually placed on the City’s demolition list.

Were it not for the ingenuity and hard work of some concerned Rochester-area residents, the historic building might have been lost forever.

In February 2019, the Young Urban Preservationists (YUP) chose the former hotel at 298-304 Selye Terrace as the recipient of its annual “love bombing.” Members made a collection of colorful Valentines, taped them to the time-worn edifice, then posted photos of the event on social media in the hopes of drawing attention to a building in need of some of TLC.

^{Rochester’s Young Urban Preservationists during their love bombing of 298-304 Selye Terrace in February 2019. From: https://landmarksociety.org/heart-bombing-at-the-driving-park-hotel/Accessed: February 21, 2023.}

It worked.

Within a few months, Rochester Refugee Resettlement Services purchased 298-304 Selye Terrace from the City of Rochester for one dollar. The extensive rehabilitation process necessitated a cadre of committed volunteers.

^{A group of volunteers from Webster Baptist Church dug the footings for the building’s new porch in April 2019. From: https://www.wbcus.org/blog. Accessed: February 21, 2023.}

^{More volunteers whose helping hands transformed a historic hotel into a home. From: https://www.rochesterrefugeeservices.org/housing-programs/ Accessed: February 21, 2023.}

^{The new housing unit at 298-304 ca. December 2019. From: https://landmarksociety.org/heart-bombing-2020-at-east-high-school/ Accessed: February 21, 2023.}

Thanks to their efforts, what was once a social nexus in the nineteenth century is now home to refugees seeking to restart their lives in Rochester.

-Emily Morry

(Originally posted February 24, 2023)

In Honor of Pioneering Black Men from Rochester’s Community: Thank You bobby johnson & Rev. John S. Walker

All too often, elder members of our communities are not shown the proper reverence once they transition from this life. In many cases, even after a lifetime of service, their impact is overlooked and sometimes completely forgotten. The Local History & Genealogy Division would like to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of two dearly beloved local African American men.

Not only do we want to thank them for the impact they made on the Rochester community, but also for their contributions to our Rochester Voices website by way of the Phillis Wheatley Public Library Oral History Collection. In celebration of Black History Month, we reflect on the life and legacy of two local trailblazers: Mr. bobby johnson and Reverend John S. Walker.

bobby johnson, also known as the “Bard of Clarissa Street,” was born in Rochester on June 9, 1929. He passed away at the age of 93 in November 2022.

^{the multitalented bobby johnson. From: Democrat & Chronicle, December 6, 2022.}

johnson attended School #3 and Madison High School before continuing his education at Monroe Community College and Empire State College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing. 

In the 1980s, he served as a member of the Board of Governors for the New York State Council on the Arts. He published five books over the course of his life, including Clarissa Street Project: Bebop Edition (1985) and Mr. Parker Songbook (1991). Writers and Books recognized johnson for “Lifelong Contributions” to writing in 2001.

Aside from his impressive and extensive professional resume, it was johnson’s adoration of, and commitment to, the Third Ward neighborhood (also known as Corn Hill) that truly cemented him as a household name in that community. 

The musically inclined johnson was also known for giving live performances featuring instruments and spoken word poetry. bobby johnson leaves behind his loving family of five kids and his wife, Leslie Locketz.

Another local leader we recently lost is Reverend John S. Walker, who passed in December of 2022 at the age of 90. As his obituary in the Democrat & Chronicle notes, Walker was “an extraordinary family-man, distinguished professor of African American History and Political Science, acclaimed lecturer, champion of social justice, U.S. Army Veteran, and revered pastor.”

^{Local trailblazer Reverend John S. Walker From: Democrat & Chronicle, January 9, 2023.}

Rev. Walker was born ​on November 17, 1932, in Columbus, Ohio. His collegiate journey led him to Marris College in South Carolina, where he graduated at the top of his class. He went on to earn a degree from Rochester’s Colgate Divinity School in 1969, before achieving his PhD at Syracuse University.

In 1973, Walker became the director of the Baden Street Settlement Counseling Center. He later served as the director of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program for nine and a half years and taught at Monroe Community College for almost three decades.

Over the course of his lifetime, Walker worked with the community organization F.I.G.H.T (Freedom, Integration, God, Honor, Today), the Marcus Garvey Black Solidarity Committee, and contributed written pieces for the Communique, a Black-run Rochester-based biweekly newspaper that ran from 1972 to 1986.

^{Mayor Frank Reaves Jr. of Culpeper, Virginia proclaimed an official connection between Culpeper and Rochester and a special day in honor of Rev. Dr. John S. Walker on January 3, 2023.}

Walker is survived by his wife, Rev. Barbara Walker, six of his seven children, thirteen grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and colleagues, as well as his Christian Friendship Missionary Baptist Church family.

Additional insights into the lives of bobby johnson and Rev. John S. Walker can be found in their interviews in the Phillis Wheatley Public Library Oral History Collection on the Rochester Public Library’s Rochester Voices website.

^{The Phillis Wheatley Community Library shortly after its opening in 1971. Photo by: Samuel L. Grassadonia. From: the Collection of the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division.}

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Phillis Wheatley’s branch manager, Rev. James R. Wright PhD, conducted a series of oral history interviews with the intent to shed light on the plight experienced by Black Rochesterians and to preserve local Black history as it was happening. Some participants had recently migrated to the area while others were everyday members of Rochester’s Black community; all were welcome to record and share their history. The resulting The Phillis Wheatley Public Library Oral History Collection includes 113 audio tapes of interviews.

^{“The Bard of Clarissa Street,” bobby johnson. From: WXXI News, November 21, 2022.}

It is clear through johnson’s interview from April 2, 1980, that he was a man concerned with the issues affecting local African Americans. A native Rochesterian who witnessed the devastating impact of urban renewal, bobby was a certified community activist.

In Walker’s interview, he reported that conditions for Black Rochesterians were worse at the time of his interview (May 1, 1980) than they had been in the 1960s. He realized that not much had changed in a decade and that the role of the Black church would be pivotal in combatting some of the societal issues facing the Black community.

It is with great reverence and respect that we once again honor both Reverend John S. Walker and Mr. bobby johnson for their significant contributions to the African American community both locally and ​beyond.

-Antoine Ajani McDonald

Sundries, Smokes, Sweets, & Stones: the evolution of the Main and Clinton intersection

^{Rendering of the future Mayflower building at 224-226 East Main Street. From: WHAM Rochester, December 5, 2022.}

Back in December 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $10 million initiative to revitalize downtown Rochester. The structure on the northwest corner of Main Street and Clinton Avenue is one of several time-worn buildings that is slated to receive a much needed facelift.

The new commercial and residential space at 224-226 East Main Street will be dubbed The Mayflower after a donut shop that once occupied the corner, but as it happens, that business was but a blip in the site’s long and fascinating history…

The first documented building to grace the corner was the property of Erasmus D. Smith, seen on this circa 1820 map[1]:

^{Erasmus D. Smith’s property marked the northwest corner of East Main Street and Clinton Avenue in the early 1820s. From: Map of the village of Rochester in 1820.}

By the mid-nineteenth century, the stretch of Main Street between St. Paul Street and Clinton Avenue had developed into a major downtown hub that included the stately Blossom Hotel and a variety of businesses.

^{Bartlett Flanders and Wickens Killick’s businesses stood at the corner in question in 1851.The Blossom Hotel stood closer to St. Paul Street. From: Plan of the City of Rochester 1851.}

In the late 1840s and early 1850s, when the corner in question housed Bartlett Flanders’ grocery store and Wickens Killick’s flour shop, the area suffered a series of major fires. In 1851, a conflagration burned the entire block to the ground, marking the second time in a year and a half that the tract between St. Paul and Clinton had been completely burned over.

When the property owners rebuilt, Flanders turned his business into a boarding house, which he maintained through the late 1860s. The following decade, Charles E. Upton acquired the property.

Upton, namesake of the East Avenue side street, was the erstwhile President of City Bank until he was arrested for fraud and embezzlement in 1882. He passed away from an opium overdose at the Powers Hotel in 1886.

^{When C.E. Upton owned the building, it had not yet been re-addressed and was numbered 127 East Main Street. From: City of Rochester Plat Map, 1875.}

Exactly ten years later, the corner of Main and Clinton was tied to further intrigue. After observing various short-term visitors making their way in and out of the property, Lieutenant Sherman of the Rochester police uncovered a “disorderly house” on the second floor. Its proprietor, Nettie Day, was promptly sent to the Monroe County Penitentiary.

^{A view of Main Street from Clinton ca. the late 1890s. 224-226 East Main Street is at the bottom right corner of the image. From: the Collection of the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division.}

Another second-floor female tenant in the 1890s also welcomed a series of short-term visitors, though her clients were more interested in the mysteries of the mind than the pleasures of the flesh. Madam Marlow promised potential patrons that she was a born trance medium who “scientifically reveals all of interest.”

^{A circa 1897 notice advertising Madam Marlow’s myriad services. From: Democrat & Chronicle, June 24, 1897.}

The same decade, the ground floor of 224-226 East Main welcomed tobacconist S.D.W. Cleveland. The building would be linked to the tobacco trade for more than forty years, most notably via a United Cigar Stores location, which occupied the site from 1903 to 1936.

^{A circa 1905 United Cigar Stores advertisement boasting five cent (!) Cuban cigars. From: Democrat & Chronicle, March 22, 1905.}

In 1937, the storefront became home to a Mayflower Doughnuts franchise. The New York City-based corporation, something like the Dunkin Donuts of its day, was the first national donut chain in America. Five years later, the Mayflower set sail for a larger location down the street.

^{Mayflower Doughnuts marked the spot in 1941. From: City of Rochester.}

The building welcomed another sweets purveyor in 1945.

^{Long lines of customers frequently curled around the block when the building was occupied by Fanny Farmer Candy, seen here circa 1947. From: City of Rochester.}

Fanny Farmer Candy, founded in the Flower City by Canadian immigrant Frank P. O’Connor in 1919, had almost 400 outlets across the country at the height of its popularity. The Rochester mainstay’s flagship store at the corner of Main and Clinton was once called “the most beautiful candy shop in all of America.” Russell Stover bought out the much loved confectionary in 1965 and the Main Street location closed its doors the following year.

The storefront’s next long-term tenant, E.J. Bauman Jewelers (later E.J. Bauman and Sons), held court at the site from 1967 until 2003.

^{E.J. Bauman Jewelers, seen here circa 1988, marked the corner of Main and Clinton for several decades. From: City of Rochester.}

The next year, the City and County unveiled plans for “Renaissance Square,” a multimillion dollar downtown revitalization project that envisioned a performing arts center at the corner in question. It never came to be.

It is hoped that the plans currently in place will finally give this historic intersection its long overdue rebirth.

-Emily Morry

---

[1] There were actually two unrelated Erasmus D. Smith’s living in Rochester in the 1820s, one a flour mill owner, and one a lawyer and jurist. It isn’t entirely clear which one owned the Main Street property given the available evidence.

Genealogy Books and Periodicals, Pt. 4 – Preserving Your Family History

Genealogy research requires tenacity and patience. Why commit the time? Because building a family tree can be very satisfying. It can solve a family mystery, reveal a family secret, or help you rediscover a forgotten homestead. You might encounter surprising ancestors and find relatives you never knew you had, maybe even some that live close by. 

But once you’ve completed a task you are proud of, what should you do with the research? You’ll undoubtedly want to share all you have learned with your relatives and friends, but you should also consider leaving a permanent record for your descendants. This hard-earned information should not be lost again!

You may want to compile your records and notes into an actual narrative to create a history of your family. Self-published family genealogy books and websites have grown exponentially during the past decade. Such works are often painstakingly compiled, handsomely produced, and represent the result of years of research. Authors frequently send us a complimentary copy to include in our collection.

^{The Local History & Genealogy Division’s display table features books and other resources relating to a different topic each month. Genealogy is the theme for January 2023. Photo: Hope Christansen, 2023.}

Self-published family histories are not a new phenomenon. We also regularly receive new facsimile reprints of family genealogies from earlier centuries, often gifted to us by local relatives. A recent example is a History of the Gill Family (1883), written by Thomas F. Gill.

Just as family research can be self-taught and self-directed or hired out to a genealogy professional, your publication be completed entirely by yourself or by a professional publisher. familytree University offers online courses such as these recent offerings, “Make a Family History Photo Book,” and “Genealogist’s Essential Writing Workshop,” at www.familytreemagazine.com/course.

Family genealogies come in all sizes and formats. Some are primarily compilations of genealogical documents with very little narrative, some present a narrative history to go with a litany of vital records, and some are largely collections of photographs. Your own project will depend on your own determination to organize your results as well as the financial cost of preservation.

An impressive example of combined narrative, family and archival photographs, maps, and reproduced documents is Becker, a loving tribute to Walter F. Becker compiled by his late son Robert Becker, a longtime library supporter who established our Walter F. Becker Digital History Center in his father’s honor.

^{One of the detailed family trees featured in Becker by Robert Becker. Photo: Hope Christansen, 2023.}

Self-published genealogies are as unique as their authors. Two recent acquisitions that reflect vastly different American experiences are Sarah Lee Hartwell’s The Lives and Times of My Ancestors in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York and Delving Into My Bitterroots by Donise Smith Lei, a descendant of enslaved African Americans.

^{The Cover of Donise Smith Lei’s family history. Photo: Hope Christansen, 2023.}

One question that any author writing a family history needs to answer is: where to begin? How many generations back do you want to go?  Do you want to start with your ancestors’ arrival in America or go back as far as possible in a country of origin? Compiling a story may help you decide when and where to stop. Take a look at John W. Shine’s History of the Shine Family in Europe and America and Forty Days in Italy con La Mia Famiglia by Anthony Fasano.

Local genealogists and historians, many of whom work or volunteer with local historical and/or genealogical societies and libraries can be a great resource. Two recent gifts, Michael Joseph O’Brien of Bartoose, Ireland and Sackets Harbor, New York, An Irish Immigrant’s Odyssey, and Ancestors and Descendants of Capt Daniel Butts of Connecticut and New York are attractive examples of family histories compiled by local genealogist, Stephan P. Clarke.

^{Two titles by genealogist and longtime library volunteer, Stephan P. Clarke. Photo: Hope Christansen, 2023.}

Another impressive local publication is The Albrights of Hannacroix; Amsterdam; Pittsfield; Syracuse and Rochester, One Branch of the Giant Albright Tree by James M. Albright. This limited edition is a family album printed on heavy card stock consisting of photographs with informative captions. Included are images of weddings, children, residences, trips, friends, and neighbors. It is a true genealogical collage for posterity and an example of a wonderful gift for future generations.

^{The cover of and some of the many images featured in James Albright’s book. Photo: Hope Christansen, 2023.}

Lastly, once you’ve completed your research, consider the best way to preserve your results—in a book format, digitized, in the Cloud, on a disc, on a thumb drive, or on social media. Or perhaps in multiple formats? Remember, you are preserving this information for both the present and the future. 

-Hope Christansen

(Originally published January 12, 2023)

A Genealogy of Place Pt. 3: From Frankfort Institute to Flat Iron Café

The same tools used to trace the history of one’s house are useful in tracing the history of commercial buildings. To illustrate this, let’s examine the evolution of 561 State Street, currently home to the Flat Iron Café.  

^{The Flat Iron Café, at the conjunction of State Street, Smith Street, and Lyell Avenue. From: Googlemaps, 2022.}

On January 14, 1814, Philip Lyell (the avenue’s namesake) purchased village lots 48 and 49 for $1,200. Those parcels had been subdivided previously into 412 smaller lots. The lot now occupied by the café was lot 8 of sub-lot 133. There is no evidence that Lyell ever lived on the land himself.

^{Philip Lyell’s circa 1814 purchase of lots 48 and 49 with stipulated subplots. From: Genesee County Clerk, Deed Book, Liber 7, p. 141.}

In 1822, Lyell sold the property to Abraham Elwell, a laborer, for $125. Elwell then sold it to Henry Bonesteel for $1,200 five years later. Bonesteel was an active entrepreneur. He already owned the Frankfort Tavern (later known as the Bonesteel Tavern) on the other side of Lyell Avenue, where the Cole Muffler Shop currently sits.

^{The Bonesteel Tavern, seen here circa 1891, stood across the street from what is now the Flat Iron Cafe building. From: the Collection of the Rochester Public Library’s Local History & Genealogy Division.}

An 1840 advertisement described Bonesteel’s newest purchase as: “The new brick building in Frankfort, in which the Frankfort Institute is kept, containing three apartments suitable for stores or groceries, and several convenient and pleasant upper rooms.”

An ad the previous year indicated that the Institute provided a “classical education” (i.e. instruction in Greek and Latin), as well as courses in English, writing, and painting. It also played host to lectures, such as a temperance speech given by Oliver Peirce on October 16, 1842.

^{Henry Bonesteel’s circa 1840 advertisement for tenants of the Frankfort Institute. From: Rochester Daily Democrat, June 26, 1840.}

It appears the Institute’s life was short-lived, and the building was used primarily as an apartment house. In 1852, Bonesteel sold the property to one of his boarders, Henry Munger, for $4,757.50. Munger transformed the building into a grocery store, which he continued to operate until shortly before his death. He sold it in 1863 to James Campbell, who conducted a cooperage (barrel-making) business on the premises.

^{Lot 133 circa 1888. The building designated “J. Campbell” in the upper right corner is now 561 State Street. From: City of Rochester Plat map, 1888.}

James Campbell, and later his son John, continued to own the edifice for the next six decades, not selling it until 1922; however, following the elder Campbell’s retirement, the building was leased to a succession of druggists. It is chiefly as a pharmacy that Rochesterians in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries knew the structure.

In 1878, the building was leased to Syms Ashley Merriam. His was no ordinary drug store. In addition to the usual assortment of medicines and health aids, Merriam’s establishment featured a state-of-the-art soda fountain, an assortment of cigars, perfumes, combs, brushes, paints, oils, and glass merchandise.  In 1897, the building was leased to George Hahn, who also operated it as a pharmacy for four years. Hahn bought the structure in 1922 and sold it to Morris Rockowitz four years later.

^{George Hahn’s pharmacy, circa 1899. From: City of Rochester.}

Like the Campbells, Rockowitz chose to lease the space to yet another druggist, Kenneth A. Stocking, who left Rochester for Elmira once the Great Depression made the store unprofitable. The empty shop made paying off the existing liens impossible, so the building was sold at public auction in 1932. The winning bid was $2,000, from Elizabeth Crittenden, granddaughter of James Campbell. She would retain ownership until 1962.   

In 1935, Noah’s Ark Auto Supplies leased the space. Noah Sher (and later his son Martin) owned the business, which, at its height, counted eight franchises in the city and 26 throughout New York and New Jersey. By 1962, the business had gone bankrupt and Crittenden sold the property to Joseph R. Spallina.

Spallina leased the space to Amiel’s Jumbo Submarine Sandwiches, owned by Amiel Mokhiber. The store opened in August 1964, becoming the third of eventually 12 sub shops in the area. The State Street store’s initial profitability led Mokhiber to buy the edifice in 1968, but declining business forced the closure of the location in 1973. The building again sat vacant for years.

In 1985, the new owner, Mark Hull, leased the property to Dundalk News. The adult book and video store was previously located on South Avenue but had to move to make way for the Hyatt Regency hotel. Dundalk’s placement was controversial but eventually received the necessary permission. The business closed in 1998 and the city foreclosed in November 2000 for non-payment of taxes. The owners of the Flat Iron Café, Mitchell and Michele Rowe, purchased the building from the city on May 19, 2005 for $1,000.  

In the 180-plus years of the building’s existence, it evolved from a structure of learning and culture to a pharmacy to an adult bookstore. Its current iteration has brought it long-term respectability, profitability and stability. Long may it continue.

– Christopher Brennan

(Originally published December 22, 2022)

For Further Information:

Rochester city directories, 1827-2005

Rochester plat maps, 1875-1935

Genesee County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 7, p. 141.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 8, p. 286.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 10, p. 412.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 106, p. 456.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 180, p. 187.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 510, p. 265.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 1158, p. 106.

Monroe C Monroe County New York, Deed Book, Liber 1357, p. 408.

Monroe County New York, Deed Book, Liber 1595, p. 410.  

Monroe County New York, Deed Book, Liber 3424, p. 292.

Monroe County New York, Deed Book, Liber 3875 p. 561.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 5455, p. 82.

Monroe County, New York, Deed Book, Liber 10128, p. 327.

“A Beautiful Fountain,” Democrat and Chronicle, June 10, 1888, p. 6.

Dena Bunis, “An Uneasy Feeling about What’s in Store,” Democrat and Chronicle, June 11, 1985, p. 1B.

“Business Chronicler: Amiel’s to Open 3^rd Store,” Democrat and Chronicle, August 26, 1964, p. 5D.

“Death of an Old Citizen,” Union and Advertiser, February 10, 1873, p. 2.

“Death Takes George Hahn, Ex-Druggist,” Democrat and Chronicle, April 24, 1938, p. 5B.

“Dundalk News Grand Opening Sale,” [advertisement], Democrat and Chronicle, September 20, 1985, p. 4C.

“Franklin Institute,” advertisement, Rochester Daily Democrat, September 20, 1839, p. 2.

“Holiday Gifts for Gentlemen,” Democrat and Chronicle, December 24, 1881, p. 4.

Blake McKelvey, “Names and Traditions of Some Rochester Streets,” Rochester History 27, no. 3 (July 1965).

“The Mortuary Column: The Death of James Campbell,” Democrat and Chronicle, December 4, 1886, p. 6.

“Mortuary Matters: Death of Syms A. Merriam,” Democrat and Chronicle, August 14, 1890, p. 7.

Ruth Rosenberg-Naparsteck, “Frankfort: Birthplace of Rochester’s Industry,” Rochester History 50, no. 3 (July 1988).   

“Noah Sher Dies,” Democrat and Chronicle, October 1, 1974, p. 1B.

Robyn Roberts, “Still Long Way from Decision Over Book Store,” Democrat and Chronicle, August 23, 1985, p. 2B.

“Temperance Notice,” advertisement, Rochester Daily Democrat, October 11, 1842, p. 2.

“To Rent or Exchange,” advertisement, Rochester Daily Democrat, June 26, 1840, p. 1.